Chamblee Charter HS student detained for gun on campus

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Police say a Chamblee Charter High School student had a cache of weapons near the school and are looking into whether he planned to use them.

Investigators said a student, 16, notified a school resource officer that another student had weapons off campus.

A student told investigators he was across the street of Chamblee Charter buying a snow cone when the student in question came up to him, showed him the handles of the guns and asked him if he knew someone was willing to buy the weapons.

Police found the student across the street from the school with two handguns and apprehended him after a short chase.

Officers said the student took them into the woods near the football field where he had a cache of weapons and a suspicious package.

Chamblee City Manager Marc Johnson said investigators found three duffel bags full of weapons that included long guns.

Johnson said they also examined the bags for any other explosives.

The guns are believed to have been stolen.

Investigators said the student has been forthcoming. Johnson said they think the student was going to sell the weapons for money, but are still investigating the reason he had the guns.

Johnson said the student was currently under suspension at the school. Investigators are not releasing his name at this point because he is a juvenile.

Students were kept at the school until police felt there was no longer a threat.

As students started filing out of Chamblee Charter High School, they began telling their stories after an already tense day.

“We started hearing rumors and then they were confirmed via Twitter that there was a kid in our school that had a gun. So obviously it was a legitimate trigger alert,” student John-Henry Carey told Channel 2’s Carl Willis.

“I thank God that no one else was hurt. Nobody got shot, no one was hurt and they apprehended him early enough so that it wasn’t something like Sandy Hook,” said parent Chelle Knight.

Students told Willis this is a situation that they've trained for in the past. They said it was a level 3 security threat, meaning there was someone with a weapon on campus. When students stepped outside and saw officers with assault rifles, they knew it was no drill.

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“We actually had an intruder alert drill a couple of weeks ago. This is practiced, but not very much,” said student Jake Whatley.

“When it goes to level-3, the windows on the doors are covered up and we’re all supposed to stay quiet and the lights are off,” said student Caya Knight.

Channel 2's Mike Petchenik spoke to the parent of a 10th-grade student who had recently transferred to the school. She was relieved to reunite with her son, but concerned for his safety.

"We moved here because we thought it was going to be a little safer, but apparently not," April Ortiz said.

A student described the moments when the school was placed on lockdown.

"They locked us down and we went to the back of the classroom. They turned off the lights and everything and we just sat there for about 40 minutes, I believe," Jerrid Brewer told Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh.

Stay with Channel 2 Action News and WSBTV.com for live updates on this developing story.